When I was a bride to be, I LOVED attending wedding fairs – the hustle and bustle, the masses of wedding inspiration, brand new ideas, the gowns, the bling, the freebies and the general feeling of happiness and excitement floating through the air. I can hardly believe that the Brides Up North brand has grown so much that I am now throwing my own massive event – and it feels like one big fabulous party!

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I’m bursting with excitement about the weekend, but I know that as well as being a lot of fun, wedding exhibitions need to serve their purpose too. This event is primarily about assisting you lovely ladies with the wedding planning process and grouping together as many fabulous local suppliers in one area as possible for you to chat to. There is something for everyone on Sunday – from boho brides to pretty princesses, cool customers and vintage vixens, and it’s all under one roof.

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I also understand that 100+ stands over two huge function rooms is a lot to take in. How to prioritise your time and get the most from the event. From experience, I tend to waft around dashing from pretty thing to pretty thing, touching and trying and oohing and ahhing, so my advice on this is pretty useless. To assist, I’ve called in one of Sunday’s exhibitors and wedding exhibition connoisseur Mark of Mobeus Jewellers, who’ll lead you through the labyrinth of lovely!

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So lets hear form this seasoned exhibitor, fabulous jeweller and all round nice guy about how to make the most of wedding exhibitions and get the best results from your day out.

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Better meet the man himself first…

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How many wedding exhibitions have you attended Mark?

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I have been exhibiting at wedding fairs for at least 10 years so it must be dozens over the years, if not hundreds.

At a fair, we can get right to that target audience, often meeting hundreds of people in a day who would not normally visit our shop. That’s extremely valuable for anyone supplying the wedding industry.

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We get the chance to meet people who want to have a chat about their ideas for wedding and engagement rings. Some people have a bit of an idea what they would like as a wedding ring but haven’t seen what they are after. We are able to take their ideas and make them into their own personal designs.

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How do you make the most of wedding exhibitions?

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A lot of people are quite shy at first when they visit the stall, so we just ask them some simple questions to get the conversation going. We’re never pushy and just like to get a feel for the couple and what they are after as sometimes it’s hard to describe in words.

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We see all the different groups – the brides and mums, the gangs of girls together and some blokes who look like they have been dragged along kicking and screaming – but they love it when they get there!

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Here are Mark’s top tips for making the most of wedding fair season:

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Prioritise what is important to you

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It’s going to be very difficult to get round every stall, so decide before you get there what you want to get out of the exhibition. People often forget about the permanent things from the wedding such as the photography and rings and instead concentrate on the flowers and table designs. That’s fine if that’s your priority, but make sure there’s enough in the budget for the things that will last.

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Find a supplier you can relate to

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It’s your wedding, so you need someone who can understand your ideas and what you really want. That’s particularly important when choosing your wedding dress and rings. If you can relate to your supplier and get on well with them, they are really going to work well for you.

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Get at least three quotes

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Find something you like, think about it and then get another quote. There are a lot of big decisions to be made when choosing things for your wedding so don’t rush in. Sleep on things – your suppliers will still be there the day after the exhibition. And don’t always go for the cheapest price, look for something you really want and work with your supplier to get the right deal.

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Visit other fairs

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As well as visiting fairs at your venue or the larger ones in your area, it’s probably worthwhile getting outside of your immediate region to meet different suppliers – they may have the exact thing you’re looking for.